Considering a crowdfunding pitch video for Crowdcube, Seedrs or an independent investment funding round? Here's a good place to start.
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Back in 2012, Pangaea TV found itself entering into the world of early stage investment fundraising, specifically crowdfunding.
From then until now, we have produced hundreds of videos aimed at investors. Investors looking to back innovative entrepreneurs from a variety of sectors.
Each pitch video has a single purpose, to present the brand, product, people and potential of a business in the best possible light.
Do you need a video?
Do you? Some don't!
You may be able to secure all the funding you need with a single boardroom pitch, a slick pitch deck or a chance encounter in an elevator.
Video is a powerful marketing tool, it allows you to demonstrate your offering to hundreds, thousand or millions of people.
It also provides the opportunity to refine your message and package it in a slick, digestible, digital format.
What is your budget?
The big question and often the first to consider.
For a 2-3 minute long video, with a day of filming and bespoke graphics, we typically charge anywhere between £3K to £6K
A simpler video, voice over driven with existing footage, can be anywhere between £1K to £2K
Quotes will vary with each supplier, so make sure to talk to as many as you can.
Watch their previous work and speak to their previous clients.
We would always be happy to put you in touch with existing clients to get a full understanding of the value gained from investing in your video.
Most suppliers will include social media edits and other spin off content as added value, make sure to have this conversation.
Step 1 - Talk
Get your team together and ask the following questions.
Have you already have video content produced?
Who's going to be in the video?
Where can you shoot the video?
When can you shoot your video?
When do you need your video?
What video examples have you seen that resonate with you and your brand?
By answering some or all of these questions internally first, you'll be able to grasp a good sense of what you want the final product to look like.
This will make your initial conversation with your video supplier a little easier and make sure you find the right match for you and your company.
Approach multiple companies and ask about their process. Make sure to have a conversation, meet the crew and get creative.
Making a video is an experience that sticks out amongst the usual day to day running of your company. It should be fun , engaging and memorable.
Step 2 - Planning
You've selected a supplier, what now?
You're going to be asked a number of questions in order to lay the groundwork.
What are your timescales?
Raising investment is a complicated and highly regulated endeavour, there are many steps to take before most clients even think about the video. You should have a strong idea of when you plan to run your campaign and who you aim to target in the sector. We have been known to turn a video around for clients within a week but this is not recommended. Time is often needed to get all the people you want involved in the right place. Elements such as animation, graphics or event coverage all impact the time it takes to make your video. Give yourself plenty of time to get the right location, secure the right contributors, get a date in the team diary or even get your product ready to show at its best.
Our advice? Start the process at least a month before your live date.
Do you have a script?
The script is the foundation of the video, it outlines the overall structure. We tend to find the best formula answers the following questions:
What is the problem? Outline the personal experience or perceived gap in the market that drove you to make a change.
Who are you? What is your company called and what do you do, the 30 second elevator pitch.
What has been your journey to date? Outline your journey from your humble beginnings to current sales stats. Have you won any awards?
What is the opportunity? Outline the stats of the current market and demonstrate the slice of pie available.
Why should you invest? Avoiding financial projections, lay out your vision for the future of the company.
Its a good idea to create the first draft yourself, you know your business better than anyone. It will give you a chance to get your message clear and numbers in order. The production company should then offer script formatting and refinement services to make sure its ready to be delivered.
Who is going to be in the video?
We recommend that the founder or co-founders feature prominently. Investors want to see who their investing in as much as the product or service itself. Find as many team members as possible willing to deliver sections of the script relevant to their role.
Its then a good idea to consider third party validation of your business, testimonials from current investors, customers, suppliers and/or industry experts will elevate the video and give investors confidence.
Do you have a location?
Location is key, the right backdrop can make a big difference. Firstly, does you business provide an obvious choice? If your a brewery for example, you have the option to film at your business or in a pub.
Maybe a slick city office, shared workspace or quaint country cottage will fit you brand.
Wherever you choose, you must consider certain variables that may impact the efficiency of your shoot.
Examples of these include:
Noise - Is the space available to the pubic, a working business or next to a construction site? If so, noise may be an issue and could increase the time it takes to record your script. Some distractions cant be helped and the aesthetics of the venue outweigh the frustrating pauses, but its worth considering the pros and cons before committing to a location.
Logistics - Is the perfect spot the 7th floor of a high-rise in central London with no on street parking? If so the production company may wish to obtain a parking permit and require permission to film.
Number - How many locations are needed? Some companies have production and administration separate from each other, or suppliers they wish to visit.
Step 3 - Filming
Time for the filming day.
On the day of filming, most of the time will be taken recording the script deliveries. It's not recommended to try and learn the script beforehand as you should expect use of an autocue and coaching from your crew. Make sure to have this discussion with the production company beforehand. Although rehearsing the script may result in a more natural delivery, it could result in the wrong inflection or avoidable anxiety, most entrepreneurs are not natural orators and should not be expected to be. We aim to end up with as clean a delivery as possible and in 90% of cases, clients end up happy with how they come across. All 2 hours per person for 3-4 minutes of script.
On top of the script, you'll try and make time for interviews and testimonials. These are usually about 1 hour long and involve a casual conversation with the contributor.
Depending on time and location, you should try and film some of your product, service and/or team in action. In a lot of cases, clients have pre existing video footage that can be used in the pitch video, but it is always a good idea to get as much new material as possible.
To add some dynamism, you may want to introduce some movement by walking and talking. We have found most clients have no trouble learning a line or two on the day. If your video creatives have a good idea of how the edit will come together, they can cherry pick sections of the script knowing that you'll be on screen at those points.
By the end of the day the foundation and core content of the video is captured and you should have had an enjoyable experience. The next step is pulling it all together.
Step 4 - Editing
Time for post.
Hopefully by this stage the production company have a good understanding of what you want and have all the content they need for a first cut. In some cases you'll be provided with a rough cut that shows the best script reads in a tight order. From this point feedback is taken on board and the video built upon and refined with each subsequent cut.
We prefer to offer the client a more complete picture for the first cut, including brand elements, text and visuals. This can be risky as you don't want to end up putting too much time into something that's heading in the wrong direction. But in most cases we find ourselves on, or at least close to, the mark.
Some videos are signed off after edit 2, some after edit 22. Its OK to be critical and picky, its your video after all and you need to be happy with it. In most cases feedback is very manageable, edit changes, animation tweaks and style swaps are part and parcel of the process. The issues arise if any of the core content needs replacing, a substantial change in the script for example, a team member resigning or the product changing substantially could cause a problem. This is why so much attention needs to be paid to the planning stage to avoid such eventualities. Of course not all can be helped and magic can be done in post. Ultimately its all about managing expectation.
Step 5 - Delivery
Upload and share.
You should end up with a final product you are happy with along with plenty of content for social media, subtitles for accessibility and additional content obtaining from any interviews conducted. In most cases you'll be sent a file that you can host on YouTube or Vimeo.
Remember to keep engaged with your supplier during your funding campaign and make use of the social media edits to keep momentum going.
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If you would like a conversion to see if we can help you with your funding campaign, please get in touch.
